1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of cigar storage and display accessories and paraphernalia. More specifically the present invention relates to a humidor including housing made up of housing bottom and top walls, at least one housing side wall interconnecting the bottom and top walls to form an enclosure, an access structure for opening the housing to admit cigars and for closing the housing to substantially seal the cigar environment, a humidity generating source, and an inventive venting structure which retains cigars within the housing while uniform humidified air access to the cigars. The humidor additionally includes vented cigar layer separation sheets.
The venting structure preferably includes a bottom vent panel spaced above the housing bottom wall and above a humidity generating source by spacing means and at least one side vent panel spaced inwardly from the at least one housing side wall, the bottom vent panel and the at least one side vent panel having air passing vent openings. The vent panels are each formed of a series of spaced apart slats interconnected by panel cross members, the panel cross members preferably also functioning as the spacing means separating the panel slats from the housing bottom and side walls. The spacings between the slats define the panel vent openings which place the interior of the venting structure in substantially uniform communication with air from the humidity generating source. The panel slats are preferably made of cedar.
The cigar layer separation sheets each preferably include a thin sheet of material having a series of elongate venting openings in them. Each sheet is placed on top of a horizontal layer of laterally abutting and parallel cigars so that an upper layer of cigars may be laid on top of the sheet. The separation sheets permit venting between the cigar layers. The sheets are preferably made of cedar.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been humidors for retaining a pile of cigars in a closed, high humidity environment to extend the cigar shelf life. A problem with these prior humidors has been that they do not uniformly distribute humidified air throughout the cigars they contain. The suspended water molecules cannot pass freely and at a sufficient volume rate through the pile of cigars to adequately moisten and maintain the cigars in the middle of the pile. Stacked cigars nestle together closely and leave inadequate interstitial space for moistened air delivery. See Prior Art FIG. 1.
The most common solution found in the existing art has been for the cigar collector to engage in the laborious task of removing and rotating the cigars from time to time. This task is not only a time consuming and uninteresting, but if forgotten or delayed for too long, premium and costly cigars may be prematurely dried and ruined.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a humidor which retains multiple layers of cigars for efficient storage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a humidor which creates fluid communication all around the cigars for an enveloping delivery of humidified air throughout the cigars.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a humidor which creates fluid communication between cigar layers for adequate interstitial delivery of humidified air between cigars.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a humidor which is sturdy, attractive, and economical to manufacture.